e I,W.A. CANADA National 8rd Vice President David Tones co-instructed a workshop on Disability Management.

Prince George local plays host to |.W.A.
National Health and Safety Conference

et

¢ Local 1-424 Pres. Fred Carroll

The University of Northern B.C.,
in Prince George, was the site of the
I.W.A’s National Safety Conference
between June 12-14. Over 90 union
delegates from 19 locals across
Canada headed up to the capital of
northern British Columbia to par-
take in the annual assembly of union
health and safety activists.

Atthe same time, 74 Prince George
Local 1-424 education conference
delegates were at the university for
their own sessions and joined
national safety conference delegates
on day two.

Local 1-424 President Fred Car-
roll welcomed the delegates on behalf
of the local, which has its headquar-
ters in town.

The national union’s Safety Coun-
cil was introduced to the conference
by Chairman Bob Patterson, Safety
Director of Local 2171. The other
council members are National Safety
Director Tom Lowe, First Vice Chair
Joe Hanlon of Local 2693 in Thun-
der Bay, Ontario, Second Vice Chair
Jim Parker of Local 2171 in Van-
couver, B.C., Third Vice Chair Gerry

Smith of Local 1-424, Fourth Vice

Chair Mike Kotz of Local 324 in The
Pas, Manitoba, and Recording Sec-
yous, Stan McMaster of Local 1-
The conference was attended by
National First Vice President and
Officer Responsible for Occupa-
tional Safety and Health Neil
Menard, who introduced National
President Dave Haggard, National

° Bob Patterson, Local 2171

Third Vice President Dave Tones,
Local 1-3567 President Sonny Ghag,
Local 363 President Sy Pederson,
Local 2693 President Wilf McIntyre
and Local 1-2995 President Norm
Rivard.

“We don’t have any function in
the I.W.A. that’s more important
than occupational health and
safety,” Menard told the delegation.
“And we hope that we can help you
to learn and to interact with all the
people here and go back to put the
things that you learned to use.”

“Our goal has to be zero (deaths
and injuries),” said Menard. “It’s a
tough goal but it’s one we can reach
if we really put our minds to it and
say, at the worksite, that we have
to walk our talk on health and
safety.”

Besides the presentations and
speakers detailed on these pages,
the safety conference broke into
four workshops.

They were: Surfing the Internet
for Health and Safety Activists,
instructed by Local 1000 Safety
Director Bob Hird and Local 1-423
First Vice President and Safety
Director Ben Landis; Basic instruc-
tion for Occupational Health and
Safety Committees, instructed by
I.W.A. National Safety Director
Tom Lowe and Local 1-417 Safety
Director John Silano; a seminar on
Musculoskeletal Injury Prevention,
instructed by Wayne Glibbery of the

Workers Health and Safety Centre
in Sudbury, Ontario and Local 2171

¢ National 1st V.P. Neil Menard

officer Jim Parker; and Disability
Management, instructed by Broth-
ers Menard and Tones.

There was a humorous presenta-
tion on stress management by Andy
Beesley and a seminar for on the
issue of due diligence in accident
prevention from former WCB man-
agement staff member Kent Mac-
Donald. :

Neil Berger, a consultant on chem-
ical dependency, gave a lecture on
“enabling” behavior and how it per-
petuates destructive behavior of
people who have alcohol and drug
problems.

SS

e National Safety Director Tom Lowe co-instructed a class on Occupa-
tional Health and Safety Committees.

MacBlo safety —
team gives
presentation

MacMillan Bloedel’s Solid Wood
Group Safety Team made a pitch to
the national Safety Conference in
Prince George. Bob Patterson, head
of the I.W.A.’s National Safety Coun-
cil, has been hired full time by the
company to head the Solid Wood
Group’s Safety Management and
Accident Prevention Resource Team
(SMART). i

Members of the SMART were in
attendance to give the delegates a
quick go over of what direction they
are going in. é

SMART’s stated objective is to
“create breakthrough results in
accident prevention, while creating
meaningful opportunities for our
workers with disabilities.”

With a team headed by Dr. Bob
Anderson and Brother Patterson,
SMART has 14 representatives from
MB solid wood divisions, represent-
ing fallers, millwrights, equipment
operators, logging truck drivers,
production workers, mechanics,
hooktenders and supervisors.

In 1997, members of the solid
wood group had 176 lost time acci-
dents, with 680 recordable cases
(lost time accidents, medical treat-
ment, and restricted work days) and
4,826 non recordable case (first aid
reports and medical aids).

The group is out looking for safety
systems that work with defined
roles, that are accountable and that
have good ways of measuring
whether or not progress is being
made. By the end of 1998 each divi-
sion will have an employee driven
safety project with stated objectives.
By the year 2000, accident and

injuries are to be largely eliminaied,
At the same time there is sup-

posed to be a shift in culture from
“adversarial to partnership.”

At the foundation, is an experi-
ment with “Behaviour Based Safety”
initiative that is supposed to allow
workers to gain control of their own
safety and the safety of others. Each
job is being broke down into its indi-
vidual components and analyzed for
safety.

“Part of the process of the pro-
gram is that it is done worker to
worker, it’s done positive and it’s
voluntary,” said Patterson. “That's
a big deal.”

Les Veale, Safety Director for
Local 1-3567, said it is important
for the SMART to look at the L.W.A.’s
own occupational health and safety
policy for ideas.

“We should be looking at that,
very clearly and directly. We believe
that (I.W.A. policy) will prevent
accidents,” he added. “We have occu-
pational health and safety commit-
tee in the divisions that do a job for

Continued on page seven

6/LUMBERWORKER/SEPTEMBER, 1998

anes